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» member profile:
solidterry
» genre:
Pop >
Pop General
» location:
Terry Swarn
» label: unsigned
» for fans of: Stevie Wonder, Prince, Curtis Mayfield
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SolidTerry
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I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old, growing up in Sacramento, California, but I became much more serious about it around the year 1997. Since 1986 I've lived in New York where there's lots of fertile ground for creativity. I'm more of an "old school" musician/songwriter, inspired and influenced by music of the 60's and 70's. I actually write, play and sing all the parts (with the exception of a spoken voice at the end of "One More Time"), using real instruments (no samples, tape loops, drum machines, auto tuners, sequencers, etc.), although I do use a Yamaha DTXpressII electronic drumset for my drum tracks and some percussion so as not to disturb my neighbors. This also allows me to have different drumset sounds from song to song. Keep in mind that an electronic drumset is not the same thing as a drum machine, which is more about pushing buttons and turning knobs ("set it and forget it"). With an electronic drumset you actually pick up a pair of drumsticks and use your hands and feet to play through an entire song just like a standard acoustic drumset. In other words, it requires real musical ability.
I also record directly into my computer (using a mixer as a pre-amp) using Cakewalk multi-track software which gives me 32 tracks per song to work with. I then do all of the mixing myself as well. As my situation improves, I hope to get my hands on better gear to improve my sound; I also hope to be able to afford to pay others to do some of the things that I do now. For now, I just do the best I can with the resources that I have.
I also record directly into my computer (using a mixer as a pre-amp) using Cakewalk multi-track software which gives me 32 tracks per song to work with. I then do all of the mixing myself as well. As my situation improves, I hope to get my hands on better gear to improve my sound; I also hope to be able to afford to pay others to do some of the things that I do now. For now, I just do the best I can with the resources that I have.
Why this name?
SolidTerry is a play on the word "solitary". I chose it because, as previously stated, I do everything myself -- writing, playing, singing, engineering, producing, mixing. The one exception to this is that I let someone else do the final mastering. This stuff doesn't sound real polished because I'm still learning how to do a lot of things and I'm limited in terms of gear and resources.
Do you play live?
I've played live since I was a little tyke in Sacramento. I've played live gigs with several different bands in all five boroughs in New York. My main instrument is drums. I've played in funk bands, rock bands, fusion bands, jazz bands, a reggae band, and I even worked one summer of weekend gigs with Theatre for The New City in NY.
In the last few years I've dropped out of the live music scene to concentrate exclusively on songwriting. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
In the last few years I've dropped out of the live music scene to concentrate exclusively on songwriting. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
I love the internet because it empowers musicians/songwriters to take charge of their careers. It enables creative people to network very easily and to promote their work. I believe that there are millions of people in the world that are fed up with what passes for music nowadays and they are hungry for quality music that is inspiring, uplifting, tuneful and just makes you feel good. Lots of people are making great music like this, but they're not getting heard so much.
In my music I try to concentrate on forgotten values such as melody, dynamics, rhythmic variation, harmonic movement, etc. I don't want my music to ever be boring, predictable, or excessively negative. My motto is "Songs that leave a good taste in your ear". I also try to inject some sly humor into my music from time to time (e.g., Boogie Chile, The Way You Wear Your Body, etc.).
In my music I try to concentrate on forgotten values such as melody, dynamics, rhythmic variation, harmonic movement, etc. I don't want my music to ever be boring, predictable, or excessively negative. My motto is "Songs that leave a good taste in your ear". I also try to inject some sly humor into my music from time to time (e.g., Boogie Chile, The Way You Wear Your Body, etc.).
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
I'm realistic enough to know that a record deal is a pipe dream for guys like me. My main aim is to get a good publishing deal so that I can focus solely on writing and practicing my instruments to improve my capabilities and just continue to write even better songs. I've always wanted to start my own band and I believe that I would make an ideal bandleader, but I refused to go that route because, like marriage, if I can't do it right I won't do it all -- too much heartache.
Band History:
My father, Hank Swarn, was an excellent jazz guitarist who played with the late organist Earl Grant, among others. I think I got my love of music from him and my sense of humor from my mother.
I learned my craft playing a wide variety of music growing up in Northern California. I'm a self-taught drummer/percussionist, but I later studied music theory, piano, and double bass in college. I learned the rules in school so that I could find the most creative ways of breaking them.
I learned my craft playing a wide variety of music growing up in Northern California. I'm a self-taught drummer/percussionist, but I later studied music theory, piano, and double bass in college. I learned the rules in school so that I could find the most creative ways of breaking them.
Your influences?
Again, I'm an old-school music man. My earliest roots are in the great soul, pop and rock music of the 60's and 70's, as well as great Bay Area latin-rock bands like Santana, Azteca and Malo; later I came under the heavy influence of jazz and blues, which felt kind of like coming home since that's the music that influenced most of the music that I liked.
As a songwriter my favorites include, in no particular order, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder and Lennon-McCartney. I also am influenced by Prince and feel that he is the most talented popular music artist of the last two or three decades.
As a music lover, my favorites include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jimi Hendrix and John McLaughlin.
As a drummer, I love the work of great jazz drummers like Elvin Jones, Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, Art Blakey. In my younger days I was heavily influenced by the drummers of Motown (Benny Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones) as well as Al Jackson, Jr. at Stax Records, and great rock drummers such as Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Mike Shrieve, etc.
As a songwriter my favorites include, in no particular order, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder and Lennon-McCartney. I also am influenced by Prince and feel that he is the most talented popular music artist of the last two or three decades.
As a music lover, my favorites include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jimi Hendrix and John McLaughlin.
As a drummer, I love the work of great jazz drummers like Elvin Jones, Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, Art Blakey. In my younger days I was heavily influenced by the drummers of Motown (Benny Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones) as well as Al Jackson, Jr. at Stax Records, and great rock drummers such as Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Mike Shrieve, etc.
Favorite spot?
I love the Bay Area in California. I also have a dream of someday setting up a makeshift recording studio on a large boat of some kind and laying down some great tracks while out at sea.
Anything else...?
This music isn't about Terry the singer or musician (I'm currently trying to find someone else to sing on these demos; I just do the best I can with my voice for now). It is about Terry the songwriter. I am trying to write songs that others will enjoy recording and performing. I understand that the music industry doesn't exactly look kindly upon black males that aren't doing rap/hip-hop, or who don't sound "black enough" or whose music is sometimes difficult to classify. Plus, it's a very youth-oriented industry and I'm not exactly a teenager. So I am merely trying to carve out a career as a songwriter, nothing more. Anything beyond that is gravy for me. It's just an honor when somebody likes something that you've created so much that they want to record it or perform it.
That's another reason why I love the internet. Because even though the music industry shies away from people such as myself, I believe that there is a large market for music such as mine; so thanks to the Internet I can reach some of those people and, hopefully, get them interested in covering my music.
That's another reason why I love the internet. Because even though the music industry shies away from people such as myself, I believe that there is a large market for music such as mine; so thanks to the Internet I can reach some of those people and, hopefully, get them interested in covering my music.